Nightmare
by Pietro the Speedster
Summary: After a patrol gone wrong, Dick has a nightmare and needs some reassurance.


This is the first time I've ever written a story and, honestly I'm pretty scared to post it here. I would be beyond excited to hear from you guys and get some constructive criticism. Please don't be mean, though. I'm just doing this for fun. Any grammar or spelling issues feel free to point out. I don't have a beta so this is all edited by me. Enjoy! ^-^

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own batman or Dick Grayson or anything. I'm just writing this for fun

"NO!" Dick Grayson bolted upright in his bed, sweat and tears running down his face. His panicked eyes flew around the room, seeking out some proof that what he had seen was not true. The Boy Wonder scrambled to the side of his bed, frantically turning the lamp on, banishing the shadows from his room. Only after he could see that he truly was alone, did the twelve-year-old allow himself to relax.

Patrol had been hard on him. It wasn't the first time the mini acrobat had faced the Scarecrow, but it was the first time that Dick had come into contact with a high concentration of fear gas. He had been careless, gotten too cocky, and he did not notice the goon that had snuck up behind him until it was too late. The man had hit the little bird dead in the face with fear toxin before he had a chance to defend himself. Robin had gone down, hard, screaming and trying to fight off the hallucinations. Batman abandoned the fight to get his partner away from the fight. Scarecrow had escaped, their months of tracking wasted.

After administering the antidote to his young sidekick, Bruce held him as Dick cried himself to sleep on the Dark Knight's chest plate. Unwilling to wake him, Bruce carried his ward to his room and tucked him into bed. The night had been hard on Dick, but Bruce knew he was strong. They would get through this. Kissing Dick on the forehead, Bruce left the room. That was when the nightmare hit.

" _Mom! Dad!" Dick screamed as they fell, seemingly in slow motion, from the trapeze. He was frozen in horror as he watched his parents plummet, finally hitting the ground far below. With tears in his eyes, Dick turned toward where the trapeze had broken. There, holding a pair of massive clippers, was the Joker. He turned his red eyes toward the child before letting out a terrible peal of laughter._

" _Poor little birdie" the mad man cackled. "Now you're all alone. Well, almost." And with that, he dragged something out of the shadows behind him. With a jolt of horror, Dick recognized the face of Bruce. "I don't think this bat can fly very well. I guess we'll find out. HAHAHAHA!"_

 _And with that, the Joker threw Bruce off the platform. Dick screamed as he watched the man who had taken him in, who he looked up to, fell into the center ring, landing with a crunch in between his parents._

Dick sat on his bed, crying softly to himself. He wanted, to make sure Bruce was okay. No, he _needed_ to. Mustering his courage, the Boy Wonder slid off the bed and scampered down the hall until he stood in front of Bruce's door. There, he hesitated. What if Bruce was mad at him for screwing up the fight and letting Scarecrow get away. What if Bruce got mad at Dick for waking him up. He stood a while longer, chewing his lip, until a floorboard creaked, startling the young Robin. He scrambled to open the door to Bruce's room, and threw himself onto the bed, burrowing under the blankets.

"Dick?" Bruce lifted the blanket, peering down into the tear filled eyes of his ward. "Did you have a nightmare?" His inquiries were met with a nod and a sniffle. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I-I saw mom and d-dad and they fell an-and then you f-fell, too, and then I was all alone a-and-and" Dick broke off, burying his face in Bruce's chest to sob.

"It's alright, I'm right here." Bruce wrapped his arms around Dick, rocking him gently. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here."

After a while, the heart wrenching sobs gave way to sniffles and shuddery breaths. One red rimmed eye appeared, looking up at Bruce.

"I'm sorry." Dick mumbled so Bruce had to strain to hear. Dick hid his face, tears welling his eyes, again.

"Oh, Dickie" Bruce sighed, "you don't ever have to be sorry for being scared. I know what happened with Scarecrow was hard, but you are so strong and so brave." The watery blue eyes peeked up at him.

"Really?" The doubt and surprise was clear in the twelve-year-old's voice.

"Yes, Dick, really." Bruce smiled down at his ward, stroking his hair back from his face. The blue eyes were starting to droop. The young boy was clearly struggling to stay awake.

Dick let out a massive yawn before his eyes fell closed. "I love you, dad."

Bruce smiled as he held his sleeping Robin. "I love you too, son." He whispered into the raven hair before he, too, closed his eyes.


End file.
